C/S Nexans Skagerrak Ready to put to Sea After Major Conversion and Upgrade Project

Nexans, global leader in cables and cabling solutions, has further
extended the subsea cable laying capabilities of the C/S Nexans Skagerrak,
already one of the world’s most advanced cable ships, following the
successful completion of a major conversion and upgrading project. It will
put to sea shortly from the Cammell Laird Shiprepairers and Shipbuilders
Limited dockyard in Birkenhead, England where the 8 million euro, two-month,
fast-track contract was carried out.

The conversion and upgrade has increased the C/S Nexans Skagerrak’s
capability to carry out even larger scale power cable and umbilical
installation projects, to meet the changing needs of customers in the subsea
interconnector and oil & gas sectors. It has also extended her service life
and increased her autonomy while at sea.

The major element in the project has been the insertion of a new 12.5
metre pre-fabricated hull section that has increased the ship’s overall
length to 112.25 metres. An additional accommodation module has also been
installed, taking the total number of single cabins on board to 60, together
with a new work deck, complete with cable-handling equipment, that has
increased on the on-deck storage capacity to around 2000 m2 (from 900 m2).
The upgrade has increased the ship’s deadweight from 7,886 tonnes to 9,373
tonnes.

“Owning and operating our own dedicated cable ship forms a vital part of
Nexans’ strategy to provide a comprehensive service for subsea projects, from
design, development and manufacture to installation”, says
Krister Granlie,
Managing Director of Nexans’ Umbilicals & Submarine High Voltage Business
Group. “This major upgrade and conversion of the C/S Skagerrak underlines our
commitment to the subsea sector, and ensures we are well prepared to handle
the growing market trend for ever longer cables and larger scale
installations.”

State-of-the-art cable laying ship

The C/S Nexans Skagerrak was the first purpose-built ship to be designed
specifically for the transport and installation of submarine high-voltage
power cables and umbilicals. To date, there are only two vessels of this kind
in the world. It features a 7,000 tonne capacity, 29 metre diameter
turntable, a computer based laying control system and a state-of-the-art
dynamic positioning system, and can also deploy Nexans’ specialist Capjet ROV
trenching systems for cable burial operations.

The ship can be fitted with additional cable handling equipment to
perform operations such as: cable repairs, including submarine cutting and
retrieval of damaged sections; simultaneous laying of two cables with
controlled separation; piggyback laying.

Past and future projects

Nexans operated the C/S Nexans Skagerrak on a long term charter basis for
many years, before purchasing her outright in 2006. She has been involved in
a variety of major submarine cable projects such as: both power links betweenSpain and Morocco (1997 and 2005); the Gemini project in the Gulf of Mexico
(1999); the Abu Safah project in Saudi Arabia (2004) and the NorNed link
(2008) between Norway and the Netherlands which, at 580 km, is the world’s
longest high-voltage submarine power link.

The first project for the C/S Nexans Skagerrak on leaving Birkenhead will
be the BP Valhall PFS (power from shore) project in the North Sea. This
involves the laying of 292 km of HVDC (high voltage direct current) cable, as
well as a separate optical fibre cable, to provide the Valhall offshore
platform with power generated onshore in Norway.

The Cammell Laird shipyard was selected for the C/S Nexans Skagerrak
upgrade project as Nexans regards it as a reputable company with good
references – both technically and financially. It also had the capacity
available to suit Nexans’ programme and was competitive on price and
conditions. Furthermore, the location of the shipyard in the UK fitted in
well with the ship’s route to its next cable laying project in the North Sea.

With energy as the basis of its development, Nexans, the worldwide leader
in the cable industry, offers an extensive range of cables and cabling
systems. The Group is a global player in the infrastructure, industry,
building and Local Area Network markets. Nexans addresses a series of market
segments: from energy, transport and telecom networks to shipbuilding, oil
and gas, nuclear power, automotives, electronics, aeronautics, material
handling and automation. With an industrial presence in 39 countries and
commercial activities worldwide, Nexans employs 22,700 people and had sales
in 2009 of 5 billion euros. Nexans is listed on NYSE Euronext Paris,
compartment A. For more information, please consult http://www.nexans.com